On April 11, State College police were made aware of a credible threat against State High. According to the criminal complaint obtained by the Lions’ Digest, 20-year-old Braeden Phillips planned to execute a school shooting with an unlawful handgun around 8:40 a.m. on April 21, a day after the 26th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. 

Sadly, threats like these have become commonplace in America. With few restrictions on gun ownership and trafficking, school shootings have reached an all time high. Bystanding while children are killed isn’t the solution: America needs gun control.

“There is room for common sense gun regulation, and it’s far past time that we find ways to keep people safe— everyone deserves to feel safe in their schools, and their churches, and in public places,” State Rep. Paul Takac said. Takac represents Pennsylvania’s 82nd district, which includes parts of State College. 

Since the Columbine shooting in 1999, over 390,000 students have experienced gun violence at school in America. And 2024 set a record for most school shootings: 83. These attacks, along with other acts of gun violence, such as suicide, homicide, and police shootings, have proven to be directly associated with permissive firearm laws.

“No kid, especially in elementary school … and middle school, should have to feel scared to go to school,” junior Camryn Anderson said. “Kids’ lives should be more important than guns.”

Pennsylvania sanctions the purchase of a gun without a permit or license, non-registration of said firearms and allows  the civilian purchase of assault weapons. To put this into context, on the gun law scoreboard for Giffords Law Center, the state scored a B. Unsurprisingly, fewer people die from firearm violence in states with stronger gun laws.

When it comes to stricter gun laws, the opposition often references the Second Amendment, which states that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms will not be infringed”. Yet gun laws aren’t taking away the rights of citizens, they’re simply regulations of firearms that help protect citizens, implementing measures like background checks and assault weapon bans. 

“What we have to do is get past the extremism [of anti-gun control] and begin to work out ways that we can address this that will not only be effective and useful, but also that will respect and preserve peoples’ right to use firearms responsibly,” Takac said. 

Senior Ryan Caldwell elaborated on necessary gun control measures.

“We need more background checks, because that will prevent guns from being put in the hands of people that are going to distribute them to people who don’t have guns,” Caldwell said. “A lot of the times that the shootings occur, it is like [the State High threat]. It is somebody that has a gun and is not supposed to have a gun.”

Background checks are performed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), operated through the FBI. Per the name, the check only takes a few minutes, and verifies that the buyer does not have a criminal record or is “otherwise ineligible” to purchase a firearm, referring to reasons such as mental health issues or drug addiction. As Caldwell expressed, background checks reduce gun trafficking, as well as lowering firearm homicide and homicide rates. Pennsylvania currently requires background checks, but 30 states still don’t, allowing criminals to purchase guns at any time.

Along with background checks, assault weapon bans also significantly reduce gun violence. An assault weapon is defined as an “automatic or semi-automatic firearm”. Such firearms were originally designed for military use, and are more lethal than normal firearms due to their rapid rate of fire. They are often paired with high-capacity magazines, capable of holding 10 or more rounds of ammunition, which allow the user to fire numerous times without having to reload. 

From 1994 to 2004, a federal ban was in place on assault weapons. During this time, mass shooting fatalities were 70% less likely to occur. Had the law remained in effect until 2019, researchers estimate it would have prevented 30 mass shootings, the deaths of over 300 people, and the injuries of over a thousand more. Furthermore, 63% of Americans support a ban on assault weapons; yet only nine states enforce a ban— Pennsylvania not included.

There’s many more gun laws that can be passed, such as necessitating a permit or license, enacting a waiting period before purchase, or abolishing concealed carry. Yet banning assault weapons and requiring background checks are quality first steps to keep threats like State High’s from becoming reality. 

School security was ramped up following the threat, which many students expressed relief at. For a week after, students were required to show a photo ID and pass through metal detectors.

“I was really glad that the school was taking immediate precautions … like increased security personnel, metal detectors; I think [the detectors] were a really good idea,” senior student government secretary Nubah said. 

Sophomore and vice president of Student Safety Ambassadors Joslin Adams stressed the importance of measures like these.

 “I think [school safety] often gets put on the back burner, especially with the lots of other things students are worrying about,” Adams said. “But I think giving more general education and investing more money into products, such as metal detectors and curtains for the windows in each of our classrooms, would be a really good use of our time.”

Although increased safety at State High would be beneficial for students, the underlying issue falls across the country. It’s not enough to ban assault weapons or require background checks only in Pennsylvania. Gun control needs to happen, and it needs to happen everywhere.

“I’ve seen [gun violence] happening throughout the nation time and time again. And so this is an issue that I care about, not only because it affects me and affects this community … but because it affects the nation,” Caldwell said. “And as great as it would be for Pennsylvania to pass stricter gun laws, I would not be satisfied until we pass stricter gun laws in the states that really need them and federally.”

As each week ticks by in America, the lives of more and more citizens—and children—are under threat from the weapons our government continues to hand out.

“School is a place where every kid … is supposed to feel safe, like nothing can happen to them, but every day I’m coming into school, looking around me, and figuring out which exit would be the best for me to run out,” Nubah said. “And it’s not even [just] in schools … whenever I’m in masses of people … immediately I’m getting scared. Anything can happen at any time.”

In this country, students are the ones who come to school scared, the ones who have lost peers, teachers, and friends. Thus, student action is critical to winning the fight against gun violence. 

“The fact that young people are right at the center of this as an issue, the fact that schools have been [targets] of violent acts, gives students an opportunity and a voice to make sure that their elected representatives understand their concern,” Takac said. “I think student activism is critically important and that … students need to take the opportunity, especially in our democracy, to make sure their voices are heard.”

Get involved with organizations like Sandy Hook Promise or Everytown for Gun Safety; and call, email, or write to your representative. It’s time to take a stand— to feel secure at a place of education. To ban assault weapons and keep guns away from criminals. To prevent the murders of children at the hands of firearms. Everyone can join the fight against gun violence, not only in schools, but across the country.

As students, we must fight for our right to safety.